Coimbatore: Improper waste disposal methods have a devastating impact on scavenger birds. Many of these birds get hurt and some even die. Forest officials are hoping to tackle this problem by charting out a comprehensive plan to create awareness on the issue.
Recently, a team of environmentalists rescued four mynas that were stuck to gum pads (rodent traps) dumped in the garbage bin at Vadavalli in the city. One of the myna's even laid an egg on the pad, said Raja Rajan, a social worker who rescued these birds.
Raja Rajan said that these gum pads were becoming a huge problem for these birds. "Every day, I find birds near the garbage bin located close to my home. But on Saturday I found several crows fighting and I noticed they were attacking four mynas stuck to these gum pads," said Raja Rajan. He informed the animal rescuers team who used vegetable oil to rescue the birds. "It took us over 5 hours to clean up the birds," said Vinny R Peter of Animal Rescuers, an NGO.
Rodent traps are only part of the problem. Urban waste such as razors, blades, threads and plastic are as dangerous to these birds. "Most often, these birds get entangled in thread and their wings are damaged.
Environmentalists say that this is the third such case in the last six months. "Earlier, we had rescued a babbler and a crow from a similar gum pad. There is a lack of awareness about disposing such waste. People use rodent cakes traps such as gum pads and dispose it off in the garbage bins. Scavenger birds such as crows, myna, kites, babblers and jungle crows get stuck in these pads. Often they get injured," said R Raj Mohan, assistant conservator of forest, Coimbatore district. A meeting has been scheduled on Tuesday with the district forest officer to curb such incidents. "We will also talk to environmentalists and naturalists to come up with solutions to this problem," he said.
Joseph of Animal Rescuers said that the main issue was that the manufacturers registered with the Pest Control of India did not print any instruction on ways of disposing these gum traps. "We will try holding a meeting with manufacturers and retailers as well," he said.
Raja Rajan urged the public to segregate waste and dispose them in bags or wrapped in papers. "Most times people are not even aware that the waste they dispose becomes dangerous for nature and wildlife. We just dispose wastes any way we want to. Such waste should always be wrapped in cloth or paper before disposal," he said.
